


Ferris Wheel

by p_ogman



Category: One Piece
Genre: Ace Novel, Alternate Canon, Cute, Ferris Wheels, Fluff, Holding Hands, M/M, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Pining Masked Deuce, Pre-Relationship, why isnt that a tag im-
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:40:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26949880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/p_ogman/pseuds/p_ogman
Summary: Ace and Deuce enjoy their day at the festival uninterrupted.
Relationships: Masked Deuce/Portgas D. Ace
Comments: 5
Kudos: 23





	Ferris Wheel

**Author's Note:**

> I am sobbing over this novel and these two- When I got to the ferris wheel part I was so excited but then screamed when their date got interrupted, so I had to make this. This is really bad but its been sitting in my doc for a while so just take it-

Deuce always knew his captain was brave, but the way he so easily asked his crew mate to go on the ferris wheel with him was still a shock.

Maybe Deuce should have expected it. Here they were, sitting on a bench after the Spades’ captain got chased around Sabaody Archipelago of all places to be chased. Deuce was on edge at such attention his captain caused. One wrong move and a swarm of Marines would rain down on them from the base nearby. But Ace didn’t worry about such things, and he didn’t worry about asking his best friend what should have been just an innocent question.

“You wanna ride it?”, He had asked.

Deuce looked away from the carnival ride and into the eyes of his captain. Ace was smiling that sort of half smile he got when he was relaxed, some half eaten friend food on a stick still in his hand. Deuce itched to grab his pen. He always did when he was around his captain. He wanted to remember every single detail about their moments together so he could cherish them always. The way Ace had even noticed his interest in the ferris wheel had his palms sweaty. He wanted to write about how the lights from the attractions shone against his hair still as greasy as the first day they met, and his deep deep black eyes.

But he didn’t reach for his pen and journal. No, he will remember this perfectly without his written words anyways.

“Who, me?”, Deuce says with a snort. “A ferris wheel? I’m not a little kid..”,

Despite his words, the masked man felt a sense of relief wash through him as his captain persisted.

“You ever been on one before?”, He asked with a tilt of his head. 

“Well, no..”, Deuce admitted. Thoughts of his father not approving of him spending his free time on such activities like going on carnival rides creeped up in his mind, but with a clap on his back, Ace quickly chased such dark thoughts away.

“Then now’s the time. We’re here anyways, so let’s ride!”, Ace said with a smile as he stood up and reached out and grabbed Deuce’s hand. His hand was warm, and Deuce felt like banging his head against the wall at how such a simple touch affected him. His chest felt like it would burst.

“Well..Alright- But I never really wanted to..” Deuce says as he swallows and looks away in an attempt to not look like a complete idiot. Ace just grinned and led him through the crowd of people and over to the line, their hands still connected. Did Ace notice they were still holding hands? Would he think it was weird that Deuce never let go, even as they waited in line?

The thought of Ace finding out Deuce harbored such feelings for his captain burned in the back of the first mate’s mind. He wouldn’t be able to stand it if Ace looked at him differently, if he was disgusted. So Deuce tried to keep his palm in Ace’s from trembling, and his excitement at going on such a ride with Ace deep inside.

As an avid writer, Deuce was also an avid reader. Between lessons on medicine, and writing his own stories, he also consumed many books. He remembered the days where he would sneak books into his room and get a few hours of sleep, because he spent all night with his eyes glued to pages and pages of new stories. He would take it to his grave that romance was one of his favorite genres of novels to idly read. He remembers reading imagery of the protagonist with their crush on a ferris wheel. Those scenes always ended with a kiss right?

But Deuce knew there would be no kiss tonight. When the two of them get to the front of the line and are led into one of the passenger cars, Deuce begins to wonder if agreeing to this was actually a bad idea. Because now he was sitting in a tight space, forced to look at his crush sitting across from him and impatiently wait for the ride to move. Of course he loved every moment he spent with Ace, even if he led them into trouble most times, but this was different.

His mind played the scene from that book he had read so long ago. To Ace this was just a little ride with his best friend. To Deuce this was so much more. More than he should ever hope for or expect.

“Finally-”, Ace says with a smile as the ride starts to move. He looks out at the scenery, and Deuce has to tear his eyes away from Ace to do the same. He swallowed. The ride was more high up than he had originally thought, but he couldn’t deny the scene of the carnival below looked magical. The multiple stands and rides as well as the figures of people bustling about and looking like small spots as they got higher made for quite a scene. For a moment he wonders if maybe Ace would want to explore it more after the get off, but he silently chided himself for thinking such foolish thoughts. The sun was starting to go down, and the hues of orange and red in the sky reminded him of flames. He looks at Ace again.

“The view isn’t bad huh? Hey don’t tell me you’re scared of heights..”, Ace says as he glances over. It takes everything in Deuce not to freeze up. Ace was glowing in the rays of the setting sun that shone through the passenger cart window. 

“Wouldn’t really be a respectable pirate if I was.”, Deuce says with a slight cough. Ace must be able to tell he’s bullshitting because he lets out that wonderful laugh of his that makes Deuce want to kiss him so bad. God, he was going to die before they reached the ground again.

“Nah, it’s ok. Could always hold my hand if you’re scared anyways.”, Ace says. Deuce chokes. How can he say such things so simply?

“V-Very funny captain..”, Deuce says. He makes a show of rolling his eyes, but the words play again in his mind. It would be childish to admit that Deuce would feel immensely comforted holding his captain’s hand again, but he kept such thoughts to himself. Ace didn’t laugh, but the smile never left his face. Deuce subconsciously grasped his pen, idly playing with it in his hand. Ace’s eyes drew to the movement.

“You’re thinking about something- You always do that when you’re in the mood to write-”, Ace says as he points to the pen, and Deuce blinks and stills the motion.

“I’m a writer- Of course I want to write.”, Deuce says with a shrug. The fact Ace seems to read him like an open book was concerning. But if the man noticed his own name practically carved on Deuce’s heart, he didn’t say anything.

“Well what is it you want to write? We’re just on a ferris wheel-”, Ace says.

“The view is nice..”, Deuce mumbles as he looks away. 

“Yeah- It is..”, Ace says without looking away. “I thought you wanted to write a grand adventure though-”

“These moments are as important as the action and discovery in a grand story..No- it’s more important.”, Deuce says and he swallows when he realizes he said that aloud. Ace blinks and considers the man for a moment but laughs a bit.

“I guess so Deu-”, He says and puts his chin in his hand. “Which is why we should go and check out the festival more when we get off-”

“What? The crew will be waiting-”, Deuce says despite his urge to immediately agree. Ace just shrugs.

“We still need to be here three days for the coating to finish right? They’ll be fine- Hey have you tried any of the food here? I’ll show you the good stands-”, Ace says with a smile and Deuce sighs. 

“We should be laying low because of your large bounty, but if there’s no stopping you pal..”, He says and Ace grins.

“It’ll be fun- We barely get to kick back on an island ever since we reached the grand line.”, Ace says. He’s smiling. Deuce blinks, his uneasiness about the height diminishing.. He can’t help the smile that forms on the face. How can someone not smile when the sun is smiling so at you?

* * *

When the ride starts to slow, and it’s their turn to get off the ride, Deuce can’t help the relieved sigh he makes. Ace notices, and laughs a bit knowingly, but doesn’t say anything about it. Instead, he puts a hand on Deuce’s shoulder.

“Let’s go- I'm starving..”, Ace says as he puts a dramatic hand on his stomach.

“You ate a ton just earlier!-”, Deuce says but smiles a bit. He shouldn’t be surprised with how much his captain eats.

“That was just a snack.”, Ace says with a shrug as he looks at Deuce. He spots a stand at their side and grins. “You didn’t really eat either right? Hey let’s split a funnel cake-”

Deuce looks over at the stand he’s looking at and blinks at the fried food. Usually it would make his stomach turn, but the thought of sharing something with Ace made the usual disgust go away. Not that his captain gave him much choice anyways, walking over to the stand and dragging Deuce over with him. He shouldn’t smile when Ace ends up ordering the largest order he could have for the food, but he shakes his head and does just that as he pays for the food with Ace’s wallet he’s still carrying.

“Ever try any?”, Ace asked.

“No.”, Deuce said honestly. 

“Geez, you really weren’t allowed to have any fun huh? We’ll fix that-”, He says. Deuce almost frowns at the loss of Ace’s arm around his shoulder as the man reaches over to grab the box of fried food. 

“Here- Say aa.”, Ace says as he picks up a large piece of the snack, the powdered sugar falling off the offending piece.

“That’s- You’re insane-”, Deuce manages to get out before he takes the piece with his own hand and eats it. Ace laughs at the offended expression.

“So whatcha think?”, He asks. Deuce swallows.

“Like I’m going to be sick-”, Deuce answers honestly as he swallows the last of it which just makes Ace laugh more. Deuce frowns. Damn him and his endearing laugh. 

“Come on- There’s still a lot we gotta do-”, Ace says as he takes his hand and leads him through the festival. 

At the end of the day, Ace wins him a large stuffed animal with a wink at a game of pop the balloons. He claims that he didn’t use his devil fruit power to pop the ones he missed when the man at the stand wasn’t looking, but the melted remains of the balloons barely sticking to the bored beg to differ.

Not that Deuce really minded though. He took the large bear into his arms with some mumblings about being too old to care about such childish things. He held the bear tight in his arms though, wondering if maybe, just maybe for once he wasn’t looking too much into things. Thinking maybe this man who he vowed to follow until his very death may hold an ounce of the same romantic feelings towards Deuce as he does to him.

“Ace..Pal- This was actually fun..”, He found himself admitting as the night neared its end. He picked some imaginary fuzz off the bear, his eyes avoiding his captain’s. 

“Yeah I know- Wonder if they have stuff like this in the New World. Probably not though..”, Ace says with a shrug. He has some sort of fried food in his hand half eaten, he called it a corndog Deuce thinks. 

“Yes- I’d imagine not..”, Deuce says. He wonders if him and Ace would ever have a moment like this again amidst the chaos awaiting them soon. He swallows. Could he really live without telling Ace how he really feels? His heart feels like it’s about to burst every second they’re together. Everything Ace says or does, Deuce finds himself just wanting to spend page after page writing down. He can’t live like this. He’ll combust if he does!

“Listen pal..I know we’re great friends- You’re amazing in every way and I wouldn’t want to ruin this..You can hate me forever after if you’d like but-”, He starts off his rambling just to be met with a familiar sound.

Ace was snoring. Yet again, the man fell asleep standing up with food in his hand. Deuce sighs, a sad smile on his face.

“I love you.”


End file.
